ISLAMABAD, 3 September 2007 — Pakistan’s embattled President Pervez Musharraf is still interested in striking a deal with former prime minister and key opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, sources said.
Hectic parleys between Musharraf’s aides and Benazir is still going on despite the fact that the power-sharing talks had failed and Benazir vowed to return home sometime in the last week of September.
Analysts say the political compulsions are likely to push both the leaders back to the table to arrive at some concrete decision. The two are natural allies, both opposed to militancy and in favor of free-market reforms.
The West would like to see cooperation between moderates in the nuclear-armed country on the front line of the fight against Al-Qaeda and vital to tackling the Taleban in Afghanistan. Benazir said on Saturday in London, where she lives in exile, that the talks — aimed at gaining her support for Musharraf’s bid to win a new five-year term — had failed to reach an agreement. She said she planned to return to Pakistan regardless.
Sen. Tariq Azim, deputy information minister, said yesterday that some of Benazir ‘s recent comments hurt the months-long negotiations, but that the government would continue talks with the two-time prime minister.
“Obviously, the deadlines and demands ... were the things that did not help matters,” Azim said, referring to Benazir’s pressing Musharraf to declare when he will step down as chief of the powerful army.
“The talks will still go on, but I think she has to understand that there are many other factors — that she is not the only factor who will determine the final arrangements,” Azim said. Azim said any agreement between Benazir and the government should also have backing from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Q, which staunchly supports Musharraf.
Musharraf and his emissaries have been negotiating with Benazir to get her party’s backing for the army general, as he prepares to seek another presidential term in a vote by lawmakers likely in September or October. In return, Benazir wants the government to drop corruption charges against her and to support a constitutional amendment that would allow her to serve a third term as prime minister.
Benazir attributed the standstill in the talks to some ruling party members’ opposition to working with her Pakistan People’s Party. She also accused elements of the ruling party of supporting Taleban militants, but did not directly criticize Musharraf and appeared to keep the door open to further talks.
But with Musharraf’s popularity plummeting, legal challenges to his rule mounting and former exiled prime ministers Benazir and Nawaz Sharif preparing to return home, Pakistan is facing the risk of turmoil. While some analysts said the mistrust between Musharraf and Benazir was too deep for them ever to reach a broad pact, others said they needed each other.
“Both will try to the last, I do not think it’s over,” political commentator Nasim Zehra said yesterday.
“It’s a political compulsion for both of them given their objectives — for one to stay in power and for the other to come back very actively in the political sphere.”
Benazir’s decision to only announce her return plans on Sept. 14 had given that much more time for talks. Information Minister Mohammad Ali Durrani said yesterday negotiations would continue.
“The success of the talks depends on their wish-list,” he said, referring to Bhutto’s demands.
